<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>re-turning by kyoloren</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25569121">re-turning</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyoloren/pseuds/kyoloren'>kyoloren</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Logan Lucky (2017), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canonical Rey, Crossover, POV Alternating, Post-TRoS, Temporary Blindness, The force is a little shit, and a rey villain origin story if you squint, modern AU but also canon, rey is searching for ben, this is a friendship fic, this isn’t a ship fic it’s reylo but also clyde is there</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:15:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,544</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25569121</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyoloren/pseuds/kyoloren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>During her search for Ben in the World Between Worlds Rey travels through a portal and wakes up, naked and blind on an unknown planet.</p><p>One night, a couple months after the heist, Clyde Logan walks out the back door of his bar and doesn't expect to see a naked and blind woman by a dumpster but stranger things have happened in Boone County.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clyde Logan &amp; Rey (Star Wars), Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>60</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Reylo Hidden Gems</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>re-turning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So um, this was a labor of love/hate. Starting its life as a short 2k comfort fic when I was really depressed, it turned into this....monstrosity.</p><p>A huge thank you to MyJediLife and MizKittyMystic for looking over it for me and telling me it doesn't suck!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p>
<hr/><p>With a rush of energy, Rey landed on the ground. Her muscles were shaking and she laid on her back, gasping for air and blinking widely up at the sky. It was so dark she couldn't see. It took a few moments for her to realize that a soft breeze was tickling her bare skin and that she was no longer wearing any clothes.</p><p>Scrambling to her feet, she reached out with the Force. Something was definitely <em>different. </em>She could sense a large amount of trees and plant-life as well as animals, though she didn't have the names for them. She couldn't feel any strong pull of the Force, so why had she ended up here?</p><p>She was no Jedi, just a lone Force user trying to find her way back to her soulmate. Even though each passing year her connection to and control over the Force grew stronger, the old Jedi texts were difficult to decipher alone. Despite her determination, the Force had yet to bring her where she needed to be.</p><p>Frustrated, Rey blinked and brushed away hot tears and walked forward, resting her hand against the trunk of a tree. It was tall and sturdy but young; she could feel its age. There was almost a void in the Force here, like it had been slowly sucked away by…something. She didn't know what, but she did know that she needed to get clothes and find some light.</p><p>Needles shed from trees and pointy rocks stuck into the bottom of her feet as she walked along, slowly feeling out with the Force and finding bursts of human life as her ears picked up on sounds of civilization. Rey couldn't figure out why everything was still dark.</p><p>Her hand fell on smoothed wood and she could feel electricity moving through it and the warmth of light. She waved her hand in front of her eyes and saw only the slightest changes in shadows, black against dark grey.</p><p>She was blind.</p><p>Taking a deep breath, she focused. She could move around just fine thanks to her connection to the Force, but this wasn't going to make this easy for her. She didn't know where she was, and she had yet to be able to find anything to cover herself with. She could be on a planet where no one was dressed and it would be fine, but she couldn't<em> see</em> that.</p><p>There was a glowing pulse of life closeby and she walked cautiously toward it. Perhaps she would be able to borrow some clothes if what she was sensing was a residence. There were enough people inside that it could be a home. Rey skirted around what felt like a shift in the ground from dirt and grass and underbrush to cracked…stone?</p><p>Suddenly there was a sound of a door opening and Rey panicked. There was a lot of dead space around her where she couldn't tell if there was really anything there or not. She tripped in her haste to hide and cursed.</p><p>oOo</p><p>Clyde Logan had seen a lot of things in his lifetime but a completely naked woman stumbling out of the darkness at the back of <em>Duck Tape</em>'s lot still took him by surprise.</p><p>He sucked in a breath as she froze and his eyes shot skyward as the trash bag dropped from his hand. "Ma'am-"</p><p>"Who are you?" the woman asked.</p><p>"Do you know you're not wearing any clothes?" he finished.</p><p>She spread her arms to cover herself as best she could. "I know. I was looking for something to wear but I can't see. I'm blind."</p><p>Furrowing his eyebrows, he slowly dropped his eyes to look at her face. Even from two yards away he could tell that there was a lack of focus in her gaze. "I have...I can get you clothes. I have some inside, just here." He motioned behind him and then remembered that she couldn't see.</p><p>"Where is here? What planet am I on?"</p><p>"Um…Earth?"</p><p>She stepped forward, dropping her arms and he looked up at the streetlight again. "Is this where you live?"</p><p>"No. I work here. Do ya want me to get you somethin' to put on?"</p><p>She nodded, hooking an arm across her chest again. "Okay."</p><p>"Okay," Clyde repeated. He stepped back into the building and went into the back room where he had a few spare shirts. He picked his warmest one and walked back out, nearly slamming right into her. She had moved right to the door. "Here ya go."</p><p>oOo</p><p>Rey took the offered shirt. It was soft to her touch and she felt around, slipping her arms through the sleeves and rolling them up so she could use her hands to button all the way down. It reached her mid-thighs. "Thank you," she said to the man who had stumbled upon her.</p><p>She had never heard of Earth, but was grateful that the language they spoke was the same. She was cautious though, because the Force felt weird and she didn't want to give any information about herself out to just anyone. She wasn't always so kindly welcomed.</p><p>"Were you out there all alone?"</p><p>Rey blinked. It had been a few minutes since she first tried to see and the dark grey was two shades lighter. She couldn't see much more than a big blob in front of her, but she could sense that her eyesight was improving, no matter how slowly. "Yes. I landed here for some reason. I don't know where I am."</p><p>He took his time replying and when he did, his voice was a little softer. "There was no one out there with ya? Where'd ya come from?"</p><p>"Far away," Rey replied.</p><p>"There's a phone in here. You can call someone. Or the police." His words were spoken slowly and deliberately, some of the vowels drawn out strangely.</p><p>Rey blinked, frowning. She didn't have a communicator with her, nor her lightsaber, both which had been left behind when she—teleported here. She was still fuzzy on the details. She flexed her hands, fisting and stretching out the fingers over and over. "I don't have anyone to call."</p><p>"Oh."</p><p>Rey sensed that whoever this was, is human in shape. She reached out a hand and it settled against a smooth, hard material. She felt a slight whirling of a motor beneath her fingers. A prosthetic arm, she guessed. "I'm Rey," she offered, because he <em>had</em> been helping her. She could be nice. She'd learned some manners since joining the Resistance.</p><p>"Nice to meet you, ma'am. My name's Clyde."</p><p>She smiled a little.</p><p>oOo</p><p>She had the brightest smile he'd probably ever seen. He knew that there were the last of his regulars inside, drinks to be served, and yet he wouldn't just leave this woman out here in the dark. "You can come in, if you want," he offered. "Kitchen's closed for the night, but I can getcha somethin' to eat."</p><p>Rey blinked, narrowing her eyes in the general direction of his face. "Okay." She kept her hand on his prosthetic and shuffled inside after him. He set her down on a flat seat next to the overflowing office desk. She gripped the edges of it with dirty hands.</p><p>"Now you just stay here. I'll be back," he told her.</p><p>She nodded and Clyde disappeared through the door and walked back to the bar. He took a few minutes to hand out beers and fill up drinks before he filled a bowl with peanuts and brought them back to her.</p><p>"Ma'am," he said, so she'd know it was him coming into the room. She turned her attention to him and he reached out with his right hand for her own, gently pressing the bowl into her palm. "You sure I can't call nobody for ya?"</p><p>There was a moment's hesitation on her face before she shook her head. "Nobody. I'll be okay, I just need to think things through and figure out what to do next."</p><p>Clyde had no idea what sorta things she had to think about and figure out, but he wasn't going to start arguing with her. "I gotta get back to work. You can stay in here 'til we close. No one ever comes back here."</p><p>Rey nodded again and dug her fingers into the salted peanuts. "Thank you."</p><p>Clyde left, double checked drinks and closed a few tabs before he grabbed the phone off the wall by the dark kitchen and dialed Mellie's number.</p><p>"What'd you want?" she answered, sounding annoyed. It <em>was</em> late and Clyde felt a little bad.</p><p>"There's a lady here," he said.</p><p>He could hear Mellie rolling her eyes. "I know most of y'all's customers are old men but ladies do exist Clyde."</p><p>"I know that." He glanced around as if he was being watched. "But do they all walk outta the woods naked and blind?"</p><p>"What d'you mean?"</p><p>"I mean, some lady walked outta the woods without any clothes on an' she also told me she couldn't see."</p><p>"You being serious right now?"</p><p>"Yeah. I gave her a shirt to put on. She's eatin' peanuts in the office. Says she don't have nobody to call. And she talks funny."</p><p>"Funny how?"</p><p>"Like she ain't from around here. Like she's from them Harry Potter movies."</p><p>"What's she doin?"</p><p>"Thinkin. She said she had to think about what to do. She can't stay overnight."</p><p>"Why not? You're the boss, Clyde."</p><p>"I know I am and I'm sayin' she can't stay here. Somethin' about this whole thing ain't right."</p><p>Mellie sighed, muffling the receiver. "Fine. I'll come over and see if maybe talkin' to another woman'll get somethin' outta her. Okay?"</p><p>"Thank you."</p><p>oOo</p><p>Rey demolished that bowl of nuts and licked her fingers—and the bowl if she was being honest—clean. Clyde brought her in a big glass of water and she gulped that down as he told her he called his sister and she'd be coming around to talk to her.</p><p>"Is she part of the law enforcement?" Rey asked, carefully choosing her words.</p><p>"Mellie? No. She's a hairdresser."</p><p>Rey must have looked quizzical at him because he continued.</p><p>"She cuts and does up people's hair. Cuts mine, too."</p><p>She couldn't <em>see</em> his hair, but she nodded and smiled anyway. "I didn't mean to interrupt your life like this. Normally I come much more prepared."</p><p>"Prepared for what?"</p><p>Rey pressed her lips together. This wasn't the first time she'd tried to get into the mysterious world that the Jedi texts talked about; she had never ended up in a place like this before. And normally she had her clothes and sight as well. Her hand reflexively grabbed for the lightsaber that she held on her hip. She usually made use of that as well. She was much better at intimidation these days than negotiation.</p><p>"I make a lot of trips like this."</p><p>"To West Virginia?"</p><p>Was that the name of the city she was in? "No, I've never been to West Virginia before."</p><p>"What <em>were</em> you doin' in the woods back there?"</p><p>She could sense concern through the Force and she stood up, gently reaching a hand out in his direction. She could tell that being compliant would work better here rather than resisting. "It's okay. I'm perfectly fine. You don't have to worry."</p><p>There was a long pause. "Okay," Clyde said before he left again.</p><p>A few minutes later, the door opened again and unfamiliar footsteps reached Rey's ears. They were lighter and sharper.</p><p>"Um, hi," a female voice said. "You the naked, blind girl?"</p><p>Rey stayed in the uncomfortably flat seat. "I'm no longer naked," Rey said, plucking at the rolled up cuff of her borrowed shirt.</p><p>There was the sound of scraping as another chair was brought over. "I'm Mellie."</p><p>"Rey. Clyde told me you were here to talk to me."</p><p>"He's a little in over his head."</p><p>Rey frowned. "Why?"</p><p>"Because naked ladies with weird accents stumblin' out the woods doesn't really happen here in Boone County, darlin'."</p><p>"Oh. I guess that makes sense. I didn't mean to be much trouble."</p><p>"Huh. You really can't see." Rey felt a slight breeze as Mellie waved her hand in front of her nose.</p><p>"I can see barely a shadow. But I think my sight should come back in a few days, maybe a little longer." If she could sense a bit more with the Force, maybe she could find someplace to stay. It wasn't like Rey wasn't used to being on her own and fending for herself.</p><p>"You definitely can not stay here the whole time. Clyde'd have a heart attack."</p><p>"I don't mean to stay <em>here</em> in this room. Is there anywhere I can stay? I don't mind sleeping in the elements."</p><p>"Outside? Honey, that's not a good idea." Mellie leaned forward and put her hand on Rey's, which were folded in her lap. "Now that it's just us girls, what <em>were</em> you doin' out there in the woods? Were you kidnapped? Did some men leave you there?"</p><p>Rey did not take the tone of Mellie's voice lightly. "No. I just-I arrived in the woods."</p><p>"Arrived from where? An' without clothes on to boot."</p><p>"It's hard to explain. The Force brought me here. I don't know why, but I'm here for a reason."</p><p>"You're not makin' any sense."</p><p>Rey stood up. "I'm thankful for your brother's help. But I can take care of myself."</p><p>"Bein' blind and all? You're obviously <em>not</em> from around here." Mellie stood, her chair scraping back. "I'm not here to tell ya what to do, but if you ain't got no one to call, you gotta stay somewhere. I've got a house and a couch. It's late. We can figure it out tomorrow."</p><p>Rey hesitated. It was true that she was somewhere alien, on a planet she'd never heard of, without any of her gear. Not that she <em>needed</em> her lightsaber, but it was a comfort. Here, all she had was the Force and the kindness of strangers. She wasn't used to accepting such kindness, even after meeting Finn, Han and Leia. Especially not after the past few years.</p><p>"I'd appreciate that," Rey said finally.</p><p>"Okay great. I brought you some shoes so you can walk through the bar without bringin' down the whole health code percentage."</p><p>Rey wobbled on one leg as Mellie slipped her feet into flat soled shoes that didn't reach her ankles. They felt strange.</p><p>"There," Mellie said, standing up and dusting off her hands loudly. "Chuck Taylor's. I'd never wear 'em in a thousand years but they got their use now. And Clyde's shirt's practically a dress."</p><p>Rey hadn't had much occasion to wear dresses. She instantly ached to be back home, to be wearing Ben's sweater, one of the only things she had left of him. That is, until she found him again. She would, she really would. She had to believe it. Otherwise this would all be for naught.</p><p>Mellie tugged at Rey's clothes and picked twigs and leaves out of her hair before she took Rey's hand and set it in the crook of her elbow. "Just follow me, okay? I'll get ya back home and into a bath and we can talk in the mornin'."</p><p>Rey walked alongside her out of the room and through a short hall. The sound changed as they entered a larger room. Rey could pick out Clyde's life-energy through the Force.</p><p>"Y'alright there?" he asked.</p><p>She didn't know who he was talking to. "Yes," she replied politely.</p><p>"I've got her," Mellie told him. "See ya in the mornin', Clyde."</p><p>"Yup," came his response.</p><p>They stepped outside onto a porch. Mellie said hello and goodbye to someone named Earl and then guided Rey down a few wooden steps.</p><p>"Okay, hang on a sec," Mellie said, leaving Rey's side. Rey reached forward and felt metal under her hands. It had the same kind of lack of Force as a lot of things in this world did.</p><p>"What is this?" she asked.</p><p>"My car," came a disembodied voice before Mellie returned and opened a door. Rey felt her way in and settled into a seat. Rey was shut in and then Mellie joined her. They were sitting side by side. Rey ran her hands over the dashboard.</p><p>"What does it look like?" Rey asked. She guessed that it was some kind of speeder.</p><p>"Um…it's a Nova. Red with white stripes, I keep her up myself."</p><p>That didn't give Rey much information but she accepted it. If she asked too many questions she was sure to scare away the only people who were helping her.</p><p>A nice breeze came through the open windows as Mellie drove, her words filling the space and giving Rey a good idea of what type of person she was. "So <em>Duck Tape</em> is Clyde's bar and I've got head chair at the salon so we do pretty good. I've got our Momma's house still and Clyde's livin with me right now. My other brother, Jimmy, he got into some stuff a few months back and he moved away. His daughter's the cutest thing in the world and I miss havin' her close."</p><p>Mellie prattled on and on about her family, which made Rey feel safe. She did not sense sinister intentions from Mellie, nor had she from Clyde either. They were as genuine as their energy told her.</p><p>The car stopped eventually and Mellie helped her out and up stairs. The house was easy to move around in once Rey got her bearings, though Mellie had to help her work the faucet in the refresher.</p><p>"That's a funny way to say it," Mellie commented. "We just call it a bathroom. Do you need me to stay and help? The shampoo is the tall thin bottle and I use that body wash in the short round one."</p><p>Rey leaned over the water and felt the bottles. "I think I can clean myself on my own. Thank you."</p><p>"If you were wantin' to take a bath, you can plug up the bottom drain, otherwise the pressure on the showerhead's okay."</p><p>Rey thanked her again and unbuttoned the shirt covering herself once the door was closed. She stepped into the tub and turned on the stream of water. It was cold at first but warmed a few seconds later.</p><p>She let it wash over her, stepping into the stream and letting it cover her face. She didn't know why she was here or how she would get back without being able to see, but she would just have to trust in the Force. It would guide her.</p><p>And if it didn't, she would make it do what she needed.</p><p>oOo</p><p>Clyde tried to be quiet when he got back to Mellie's. The house was dark and he had to turn on the stairway light just so he didn't ram into a corner. The light reached the living room, where Rey was wearing some of Mellie's clothes and sleeping on the sofa. She was all curled up on her side, her face scrunched up against the light—or maybe it was something she was dreaming about since she couldn't see and all.</p><p>He took off his boots and went upstairs as quiet as he could, turning off the light once he got to the top.</p><p>In the morning, he came downstairs and Rey was sitting in the kitchen with Mellie, sipping something out of a mug.</p><p>"Coffee?" he asked.</p><p>Mellie nodded toward the counter where there was a mug waiting for him too. "Clyde ain't a mornin' person," Mellie said toward Rey.</p><p>He really couldn't protest because she was right. He poured himself a coffee, dragged out the third seat at the table and sat down, taking up more space than the two of them combined.</p><p>"Thank you for letting me stay overnight," Rey said after a beat.</p><p>"Did ya think of anyone we could call for ya?" Mellie asked, standing up to start some breakfast. For Mellie, that consisted mostly of cereal on weekdays. She made bacon and eggs on the weekends and Clyde would stand in the far corner by the back door stirring the grits until they got the texture he liked.</p><p>"No," Rey shook her head. "But my sight is better." She lifted one of her hands and wiggled her fingers in front of her eyes.</p><p>"Better? Does that happen?" Clyde asked, his morning brain muddled already and this strange woman from the woods was not helping. "Do people get...un-blind?"</p><p>Mellie shrugged and Rey returned her hand to her mug.</p><p>"I told you that I was from far away," Rey said. "I meant it. I'm-I'm not from here."</p><p>"Ain't you from London or somethin'?" Mellie asked, coming over with bowls of Cheerios and milk. She gave one to Clyde and one to Rey.</p><p>"I've never been to London."</p><p>Clyde hunched over in his seat and grabbed the spoon, his frown deepening as Mellie returned with her bowl. "I don't understand where you're from," he said into his bowl before he looked at Rey.</p><p>oOo</p><p>Rey poked at the breakfast Mellie handed her, but she would never say no to food, no matter how strange it looked or felt. "I'm not from this planet," she said carefully. This morning she could see dark shadows on a light background. She could tell where the siblings were sitting, but she couldn't see anything more than formless blobs. She hoped by the end of the day she may be able to see more distinct shapes.</p><p>"Not from...where'n the hell else would ya be from?" Mellie asked, frowning across the table at her.</p><p>Rey chewed a mouthful of food and waved her utensil around. "I don't want to confuse you. I can go on my own way now that it's daytime."</p><p>"That don't answer the question," Clyde muttered.</p><p>"If I explained it to you-" Rey took a deep breath. "Like I said, I appreciate your help, but I can take care of myself from here on out."</p><p>"Mmmhmmm," Mellie said, somehow making the wordless noise sound sarcastic.</p><p>"I'm going to go back to that forest to find what I'm looking for and then I'll leave."</p><p>"Are you now? And how do ya expect to get back to the woods?" the other woman asked. "You can't see."</p><p>Rey politely put down her spoon. "I can use the Force."</p><p>"The force? What force? Is that an app or somethin'?"</p><p>"It's something I can <em>do</em>. But there's not a lot of it here. I can sense it and use it to see."</p><p>Clyde finally spoke again: "Are you some kinda superhero?"</p><p>"I'm just Rey. You should forget about me." She almost pushed a little with the Force, to make them agree with letting her go, but they had been genuinely nice to her. She couldn't do it. Something stopped her, a little voice in the back of her head that sounded distinctly like Ben's.</p><p>"Fat chance of that," Mellie snorted delicately. "You're the strangest thing to happen in Boone County in a long time."</p><p>Rey stood up with her empty bowl and walked to the sink, walking as assuredly as if she had her eyesight.</p><p>"Mel," Clyde said, voice even quieter than usual. "Should we really be helpin' out someone so strange what with everythin' that went on at the you-know-what?"</p><p>"Clyde, I don't really think this has anything to do with that." From the sounds of it, Mellie patted his arm or shoulder and then joined Rey at the sink. "Okay then, if ya wanna go to the woods again, we really can't stop you, can we?"</p><p>"No. And I don't want you to. I'm here with a purpose, I just need to figure out what it is."</p><p>Mellie ran her hand over Rey's hair. It had grown long in the past five years, brushing the middle of her back. "If you're gonna go tramplin' through the underbrush, let me at least do up your hair and give ya better clothes."</p><p>"Thank you," Rey said, accepting the help.</p><p>An hour later and Rey was in her borrowed clothes—something called "jeans", boots, a t-shirt—and her hair had been pulled back in what Mellie called a French braid. It was similar to the simple plaits Kaydel and Rose had taught her at her behest years ago, but Rey was always horrible at them. Even when she could see, they ended up knotted. She'd stopped trying and resorted back to buns or letting her hair run free.</p><p>"Clyde, do you gotta go to work to do inventory today?" Mellie called down the stairs as she sprayed something on Rey's hair that smelled tangy and fake. They were in the refresher, Rey sitting on the toilet and Mellie's hands in Rey's hair.</p><p>"Uh-yeah, sure I could do that," came his reply. Rey heard the stairs creak as he walked up.</p><p>"Okay. I'll drive ya both over. Unless you won't agree to another handout," Mellie added quieter to Rey.</p><p>"I'll accept it," Rey said, a little sheepishly. She could feel Mellie's irritation.</p><p>oOo</p><p>Rey sat in the back of the Nova after Mellie explained to Rey that Clyde was too big to fit. Which was true, getting into the back of a coupe was a hindrance for a number of reasons. Rey clambered inside and Clyde settled into the passenger seat.</p><p>He kept glancing at his sister as she tore down the road. She occasionally snapped her gum and rolled her eyes toward him. Neither of them said anything. Clyde for sure could tell that Mel was set to burst into a conversation or argument about Rey's sudden cold shoulder treatment.</p><p>Clyde was still trying to wrap his head around the sparse things she had told them at breakfast. She had definitely said "I'm not from this planet", but she didn't <em>look</em> like an alien. And who knew? Maybe her head wasn't on right and nothing she said was ever gonna make sense.</p><p>His frown deepened as he thought about that. It didn't really feel right. Rey seemed determined and level-headed—besides walking around at night naked.</p><p>"Okay, here ya go," Mellie said as the car stopped, jostling Clyde out of his thinking.</p><p>Clyde got out and pulled the seat forward so Rey could get out. She was a little unsteady trying to grasp around for something to pull herself out and Clyde put his hand in her way. She found it pretty easy and he helped her to the asphalt of the parking lot.</p><p>She said nothing to him but turned and leaned down into the car to say "Thank you," to Mellie.</p><p>"Uh-huh," Mellie replied. "I'll be back later. Ya know to reach me at the salon."</p><p>"Yup," Clyde said, closing the door and leaning down to give his sister a shrug through the open window. Mellie snapped her gum in response and then took off, choking the air with dust. Clyde stepped back and turned to say something to Rey but she was already walking.</p><p>It was uncanny how she moved, like she could see when it was clear she couldn't. She didn't have one of those white stick things or a dog to help, so how did she do it? She talked about stuff, saying little and using words that didn't make any sense.</p><p>Rey was already rounding the corner of the building when he sprinted to follow. "Hey!" She didn't stop, walking with determination, avoiding a chunk taken out of the pavement as she did.</p><p>"I told you that I can take care of myself from here," Rey said over her shoulder.</p><p>Clyde was not usually a very confrontational person. Sure, he could get worked up into it or roped into it, but he was happy to passively piss people off. Not that he was pissed at Rey, but he <em>was</em> concerned.</p><p>He didn't want to startle her, so he gently put his hand out and grabbed for her arm, brushing against her upper arm. It made her pause.</p><p>"I dunno how that's true," he insisted, planting himself in her path. "You said it yourself, you're blind."</p><p>Rey sighed. "I'm getting better."</p><p>"Ho-how?" He still didn't <em>get it</em> and it had nothing to do with being <em>simple </em>as most of the damned county thought of him and his brother. She wasn't making a lick of sense.</p><p>Rey crossed her arms.</p><p>He tried another tactic, focusing on her safety. And he did mean it. If she was blind, she shouldn't be wandering around. "You want me to just let ya go into them trees there alone, when ya can't see?"</p><p>"Yes. With any luck, you'll never have to see me again," Rey said, suddenly prickly and nearly glaring at him. He didn't know what he'd done to deserve it, except ask a few questions.</p><p>Maybe he shouldn't have gotten involved with this strange woman from the woods at all. "That don't seem right."</p><p>"I'll be fine." Taking a breath, Rey stepped forward and put her hand out, resting it against his arm. "Thank you, but I'm not sure you want to be involved with what I have to do."</p><p>Clyde's frown turned down the corners of his mouth. She was talking so vaguely that he had no idea what he could say, or should say for that matter. Instead, he decided that maybe this wasn't a fight he needed to win, despite the nugget of unease growing in the pit of his stomach.</p><p>She walked around him toward the trees, entering them a few yards from where he'd found her. He didn't follow her this time, and she made her way through the trees without fail, disappearing from his view.</p><p>He watched her until she was out of his sight then muttered to himself as he walked into his bar. Maybe she was some kinda witch. When he went out later to see if he could find her—he would be kidding himself if he believed he wouldn't go to check on her—and she was gone, he was glad to be rid of her and her confusing talk.</p><p>oOo</p><p>One really didn't need to see if they were connected to the Force. She knew this from training blindfolded, but it was something else if she couldn't see at all. It wasn't as simple as lifting a visor; she could barely make anything out more than smudges.</p><p>She made her way back to the spot where she woke up in this forest on this strange planet. The Force was stronger here, but nowhere near strong enough to-to-</p><p>She still didn't know what she was supposed to be doing.</p><p>Usually she woke up in a temple, teaming with power and ancient symbols. Granted, she had only found two portals before the one to bring her here, but she had assumed that everything would be similar at least.</p><p>There was nothing here but trees and an uneven forest floor.</p><p>Rey sat down in the place where she'd woken up, the ground lacking the thick underbrush so it was easy to find. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, letting herself feel the Force.</p><p>She didn't know how long she sat there. She traveled through the Force, hearing and feeling every small creature and insect in the world around her, and even the distant bloom of energy from Clyde in his bar.</p><p>Without knowing what she was searching for, she fell into the Force and hoped it would guide her to where she needed to be.</p><p>Deeply entangled in the Force of the planet, Rey didn't hear the snap of twigs or the crunch of fallen leaves as Clyde came into the clearing. She didn't even feel his lifeforce coming closer. Didn't move until he'd said her name multiple times.</p><p>It twitched at her conscious and she slowly drew back to her body, her eyes flying open when his hand came down on her shoulder.</p><p>He was crouched in front of her with a plate filled with food, his face kinder than she deserved for her brush off of him earlier. Not that she could see that. Her sight was only marginally better than the morning; he was just a big blob and there was no definition to what he was holding. "You okay there?" he asked, with genuine concern in his voice.</p><p>Rey took in a few deep breaths to pull herself fully into her body again. She nodded. "I'm fine."</p><p>"I brought you somethin'." Clyde offered up the plate and she took it. "Lunch. took me a while to find ya so it got cold but I figured you should eat."</p><p>She lifted a piece of breaded meat off the plate and bit into it, the flavor bursting over her tongue. It was tastier than the nuts he'd offered just last night and the dry and wet mix of food that morning. "It's good," she said with a small smile as he got to his feet and looked around.</p><p>"What're you doin' out here? Y'know, I thought ya might be gone the way you came, but you was just sittin' there. I tried wakin' ya for five minutes."</p><p>"Meditating," Rey said, her stomach accepting the food with gusto. She shoved the cold food into her mouth as fast as she could chew and swallow.</p><p>Clyde tilted his head back and looked around. "It's kind of a nice place," he commented, hands dangling at his sides.</p><p>Rey had been sure she'd open her eyes and be able to at least see color again, but everything was still tones of grey and blobby. She stood, still holding the plate. "Thank you for the food."</p><p>"Didja find what you were lookin' for?"</p><p>It was her turn to frown. "No." For some reason, that didn't trouble her as much as it should. Instead, it just made her sad. Her throat felt hot and she swallowed hard.</p><p>"Sorry to hear that." He did sound sorry.</p><p>Rey sniffed. "I don't think I can go home yet," she said after a few minutes, the edge of the plate digging into her palms.</p><p>His footfalls made a racket as he walked and stopped in front of her, his edges melting into the same grey as the smudge of trees around them. "What're ya lookin' for?"</p><p>He was patient with her in a way that not many people were. Especially as of late. She hadn't felt very much kindness in the past few years.</p><p>She crossed her arms, suddenly cold even though the air was temperate. "I've been looking for someone," Rey said, tears floating in her eyes, blurring her vision even more. "And for some reason it brought me here."</p><p>"A person?" Clyde asked.</p><p>Rey nodded, causing the tears to fall. She blinked a handful of times and then wiped her cheeks. "I've been looking for-a long time."</p><p>"An' you thought this person'd be here in the trees behind my bar?"</p><p>It sounded insane and she knew that. It wasn't the first time she'd felt a little unhinged. This was the nicest place she'd ended up in the past few years. She'd started to do things she wasn't particularly proud of, secluding herself, searching, losing track of her friends, losing track of herself sometimes…</p><p>"I don't know," she said weakly. She crossed her arms again and swallowed the lump in her throat.</p><p>"Sorry, I didn't mean to make ya upset."</p><p>"You didn't. I thought I'd be able to figure this out, but I can't. And I don't have my books, and my teachers are dead, and I don't know how I'll ever return home again." The words fell heavy and cold from her mouth.</p><p>oOo</p><p>"You need books? I-I've got loads of books," Clyde offered. He did. He'd gotten even more of them over the past few months, too.</p><p>Rey looked sad and lonely standing there. There was pain written across her face and Clyde felt a little bad for what he thought earlier. He was pretty sure she wasn't an alien or a crazy person; she was just a woman who was obviously upset. But what could he do?</p><p>"It's doubtful that you'd have the books I'd need." Her expression softened a little bit.</p><p>He was about to say he had enough money to find whatever she needed, but if she was—somehow—here because of the heist, he didn't want to slip up. So he just said: "Can I do anythin' for ya?"</p><p>Rey sighed and leaned down to put the plate on the ground at her feet. She took a step back and turned her eyes on him. It was kind of unnerving that she could look <em>right</em> at him without seeing. Hell, it was unnerving that she could have made her way through the trees to this very spot. He himself had even tripped a few times and he had two working eyes.</p><p>"I can show you. I know I haven't told you anything of substance about me, but I don't know how to explain it. I don't know how much you know on this planet of yours," she explained in a level voice.</p><p>Clyde watched her, confused but a little excited to finally get some answers, whatever they may be.</p><p>"Don't be scared," Rey said softly, closing her eyes. She took another step back and sucked in a deep breath.</p><p>"Scared of what?" Clyde asked, looking around. There was nothing here.</p><p>A small curve of Rey's lips that could have been some kind of smirk appeared. She held her hands out a little, palm down. Her face then fell into calm concentration and Clyde once again glanced around. He couldn't see nor hear anything that sounded like it could scare him. He didn't scare all that easily.</p><p>His eyes went back to her and they grew wide.</p><p>"What the-is this some kinda devilry?"</p><p>All around Rey were small pebbles and rocks and nettles from the ground—floating in the air <em>feet</em> off the ground. They were held steady like they were sitting on solid ground. He took a step back.</p><p>Rey turned her hands, palms up, and the rocks and everything turned too.</p><p>"You-you're doing this."</p><p>"Yes," Rey replied. She let her hands fall to her sides and everything else fell too. "I have to concentrate for it to work. Especially here. There isn't much Force to draw upon."</p><p>Clyde stared at her blankly, trying to make sense. "Are you-you're an alien," he settled on.</p><p>Rey shrugged. "If that's what you want to call someone not from Earth, sure that's me."</p><p>"But you look-normal."</p><p>"Do I? That's good. I'm glad I fit in. You never really know when you portal to an unknown planet if it'll be," she paused and lifted a hand to tick off a list on her fingers, "hostile or hospitable, if you'll stick out as a human or blend in, if they'll know of me before hand, or if they'll know about the Force."</p><p>"You've said that word a lot."</p><p>"It's why I'm here. How I'm here."</p><p>Clyde rubbed his palm over his face and slapped his cheek a little to see if he was dreaming. Nope. Still awake. "Can everyone do that floaty thing where you're from?"</p><p>Rey shook her head. "No. But I'm not the only one." She picked up the plate from the ground and spun it between her palms. "I can answer your questions if you want. I'm stuck here for a few more days at least until I get my sight back."</p><p>"That…that…" He didn't really know what to say, what to think. He wasn't scared of her, but he was wary because she was an unknown. <em>Really</em> unknown. But he could do this. One step at a time. "How old are you?"</p><p>She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know exactly but I'd say twenty-five years. In my galaxy at least."</p><p>"Good. I'll get ya a drink. Hell, I need a drink."</p><p>oOo</p><p>Rey sat at the bar on a stool. She could tell this place was well cared for and the sharp alcoholic drink Clyde had given her was nice. It was just them inside. Clyde had sent his cook off for some supplies a town away and no one else was in yet.</p><p>Clyde stood opposite her, but she found it harder to differentiate the blobs of her vision in the dimmer light of <em>Duck Tape</em>.</p><p>She had explained the Force to him already. How it was the energy from every living thing, of the universe itself. That was how she moved the rocks in the woods. That's how she got here. He called it many things: magic, superpowers, alien-stuff. She didn't have an answer for him but at least he didn't seem scared of her.</p><p>"I keep wonderin' if I'm asleep," Clyde said once she'd gotten to the part of having to wait for her vision to clear. That it was some kind of test of the Force—she was guessing of course, but it seemed to fit the sort of thing the Force usually did. "But I ain't smart enough to come up with all that."</p><p>Rey gave him a sympathetic look. "It's a lot to take in. And I understand if you think I'm just someone making all this up for attention."</p><p>"You couldn't move all those rocks if you were makin' this up."</p><p>"I could be a uh-a witch?" she said without much enthusiasm. She didn't really have a name for herself anymore—scavenger, Jedi, Resistance; the only one that still fit was Force user, but even that held a negative aftertaste.</p><p>He chuckled and she relaxed a little, taking a sip out of the straw in her glass. The alcohol hit the back of her throat and burned a little going down. She hadn't asked what it was, but it hadn't poisoned her yet so she kept drinking.</p><p>"That's very convincin', ma'am," he replied with a little bit of sarcasm.</p><p>She smiled, a little relieved. "I'm glad that you're taking all of this so well. As you could probably guess, you and your sister are the only people I know on this whole planet. And I'm still-" She waved a hand at her eyes.</p><p>"I'm sure Mel won't mind you stayin' with us for a while. It's her house, you'll have to get permission, but I'm okay with it."</p><p>Rey bit her bottom lip and swirled the straw around, hearing it slosh around ice cubes. "Should we tell her, too?"</p><p>"Mellie?" She wished she could see his face, she imagined he looked almost comical as the prospect of telling his sister. "I-I don't like lyin' to her, but she likes to talk."</p><p>"I did notice. She gave me your entire family history on the drive yesterday."</p><p>"She did?" Something clinked behind the counter, glass on glass. "Did she tell you about the Logan family curse?"</p><p>Rey leaned against the smooth wood. "No. Is it a real curse? Tell me about it."</p><p>She missed Clyde's face lighting up like it was Christmas. "You really wanna know?"</p><p>"I shared my story with you. It's only fair, isn't it?" It wasn't like she had anything else to do. And what harm would it do to get to know someone else while she was here. By her accounts, she'd be here a few days or a week, depending on how well she could see when she woke up tomorrow.</p><p>So she kept her eyes on Clyde's blobby form, waiting patiently as some people came in—including the cook—and he had to actually do some work. He always came back and kept talking.</p><p>She spent hours there, drinking and eating free food. She felt a little bad about not having any currency to pay him with, but he told her repeatedly that it was on the house and to not worry her "pretty little head" about it.</p><p>Mellie came by after her work shift was over and was a little confused about Rey needing to stay—she <em>really</em> didn't have anyone to call, Rey had to keep insisting—but finally agreed to let Rey stay for longer.</p><p>They went back to Mellie's place and got Rey a better pillow for the couch and then Mellie insisted on giving her an emergency manicure which took up a lot of time. Mel talked a lot and Rey gave snippets of her life to the other woman. Clyde had told Rey that Mellie liked to talk a lot but also that she was "real good at keepin' secrets".</p><p>It was Rey's decision whether or not to tell her everything she'd told Clyde. Rey decided to only bring it up when Mellie asked, and to answer things truthfully.</p><p>Rey was once again wearing borrowed clothes since she had no others, and she got herself comfortable on the couch downstairs after Mellie said goodnight and turned off the lights.</p><p>She felt well rested from the meditation earlier, but knew that getting a few hours of sleep would do her good. She would try to put herself into a Force trance the next day to speed up the healing of her eyesight, but she didn't want to try it after exhausting herself.</p><p>Clyde came in a couple hours later, rousing her but she kept her sensitive eyes closed against the light he turned on and then quickly turned off. She listened to the stairs creak as he walked up and she rolled onto her back as she heard water running and pipes being flooded in the walls.</p><p>Once the noise had settled down, she walked up the stairs, fingers hovering over the bannister and she stopped at a door. Pausing, she lifted a hand and knocked lightly.</p><p>Something heavy fell on the floor and Rey instantly felt bad, taking a step back. The door opened a moment later.</p><p>"Rey?" Clyde's voice was softer than usual, quiet for Mellie's sake. "You startled me."</p><p>"Sorry," Rey whispered back. "What did you drop?"</p><p>There was a pause. "My hand," he said.</p><p>"Oh kriff. If it's damaged, I can take a look at it. I'm good at fixing things."</p><p>"<em>Oh</em>." He sounded surprised. "Thank you. It's okay I think."</p><p>Rey nodded. "I wanted to make sure you were all right. After you had some time to think about everything I told you."</p><p>"Still wrappin' my head 'round it if I'm bein' honest."</p><p>Once she had gotten started talking at his bar she hadn't been able to stop. "I know it was a lot of information."</p><p>"You trusted me with it. I won't go tellin' no one."</p><p>Rey wasn't used to having to hide herself. In her galaxy, sure sometimes she didn't pull out her lightsaber in certain crowds, but she never denied who she was. But here? There was an undertone of secrecy. She was only planning on being here for a short time so she would follow whatever social cues she could pick up. Without her gear, she was at the mercy of this land. She was good at adapting and surviving.</p><p>It was lucky that she'd ended up meeting some good people first off.</p><p>"I wasn't worried," she said with a reassuring smile. "I'll let you get some sleep. See you in the morning? I mean, probably not <em>see </em>you, but I'll hear you."</p><p>Clyde chuckled a little. "Yeah, sure. Sleep tight."</p><p>She said a quiet "goodnight" and then walked back downstairs and settled back on the soft cushions.</p><p>oOo</p><p>The next few days started out normal enough: waking up in his and Jimmy's childhood bedroom, putting on his prosthetic and walking down for breakfast with Mellie and Rey. Sometimes Mel had already left and Rey was attempting to cook. She almost burned herself on the second morning and Clyde made sure to show her where the bowls and milk were for a less destructive meal.</p><p>Clyde still had work to do and he was gone for most of the afternoon and night. Sometimes Rey would come into <em>Duck Tape</em> and he'd get her food and a drink and they'd talk between him helping other customers. He knew that she spent time with his sister, sometimes going to the hair place. She spent time in the woods, too.</p><p>On Tuesday, the bar's slowest day, Clyde took Rey for a hike. He bought her proper fitting shoes and brought her to his favorite spot. She thrived with the exercise, her general demeanor getting brighter and happier the more they climbed. They stopped for lunch and leaned back against the base of a big tree.</p><p>"I grew up in a desert wasteland," Rey told him. "The first time I saw a real tree was just a few years ago. I still think about how amazing the color green is. I can feel how full of life this place is."</p><p>Clyde looked around and saw a lot of green still, even as autumn started to creep in. He couldn't think about living so long and never seeing a tree. His eyes slid to Rey's face, tanned with freckles, eyes closed and tilted up to the sun like a flower searching for light.</p><p>She certainly was a pretty one.</p><p>"How much can ya see today?" he asked. He hadn't asked before they started to hike, but after spending a few days with her, he wasn't worried about her hurting herself over rough terrain. She had kept up with him like a champ.</p><p>Rey opened her eyes and swept them around. "Brighter, slight colors, yellows and browns. Still blobs mostly and I can't tell any distance. But it's getting better and better. I'm going to try to do a deep trance today to see if it will help."</p><p>"Meditatin' real hard'll fix your eyes?"</p><p>"Not fix. But others in the past who could connect with the Force like me wrote about going into a deep healing trance. It could save a life if you were badly wounded. I've been putting off trying it, but now there's no harm. There's a lot of life around us right now. I feel like I'm rejuvenated."</p><p>He was still trying to catch up on all this. "Do ya think you were sent here for that? To rejuvenate yourself?"</p><p>Rey laughed. "No offense to your planet, Clyde, but Earth has a very weak presence of the Force. I'm still not sure why I'm here, but I'm thankful for all your help. And Mellie's. Even after all that Logan curse stuff, you still wanted to help a strange naked woman. I'm impressed."</p><p>"I am a gentleman," Clyde replied with a chuckle of his own. "I couldn't just leave ya out there. You wouldn'ta found no clothes nearby anyway."</p><p>"My hero," Rey said, tilting toward him and then swaying back to her place against the tree.</p><p>"I still don't understand completely but do ya think maybe he was here? The person you're lookin' for?"</p><p>Rey opened her mouth and then closed it again, a little furrow lining her forehead. "I don't think Ben was here. He-he died and I think he's in some sort of in between place."</p><p>"Like an afterlife?" Clyde read a lot. He liked fiction and mysteries, but he'd read some other things, too. Classics and sometimes a fantasy he found for a dollar at the thrift store in Charlotte when he got down there to stock up on supplies. He thought about the story he'd read about a husband going to the underworld to get his dead wife; it hadn't ended well.</p><p>"I suppose. It's written about in these old books written by…monks, you could call them. I'm trying to locate it. But somehow wires were crossed and I'm here."</p><p>"Boone County ain't so bad."</p><p>"It's been pretty good to me," Rey agreed, finishing off her food and stuffing the ziplock bag into the pocket of her borrowed jeans. "Is there more to walk?"</p><p>"Yup," Clyde said. He got to his feet and helped her to hers, turning her by the shoulders in the right direction before they started walking.</p><p>oOo</p><p>Rey had been in Boone County for nearly a week when she woke and she could see. It wasn't perfect and she couldn't see detail, but the blobs were more like smudges and she could even see a few more color variations. She didn't have to rely on the Force to walk around the Logan house as she set out mugs—they were white and a little chipped—and made coffee.</p><p>Coffee was basically caf but it tasted a lot better and after a few trials she had managed to make it so it was potable. After almost burning her hand on the stove, she had taken Clyde's advice and stuck with cereal and milk in a bowl.</p><p>"Mornin'," Mellie said cheerfully, coming into the room.</p><p>Rey turned around and smiled widely at the woman. "Morning." Her eyesight was startlingly better than when she went to sleep last night. Just yesterday at dinner she'd started to revert from big smudges to formless blobs, but now? She could look at Mellie and see a difference between her bare arms and the shirt she was wearing. It was mostly because of the color, but it was a start.</p><p>Mellie hadn't asked much about how her eyes could get better; she just accepted it and for that Rey was grateful. Mellie took her rental payment for sleeping on the couch by Rey letting her do her hair in all kinds of ways. Rey never knew how they looked, but Clyde had told her she looked nice so she kept letting the hairdresser use her for practice.</p><p>"I see you finally figured out the coffee machine. You remembered the water this time," Mellie teased.</p><p>Rey sat down at the table, pulling a leg up onto the chair with her. "I did. Hopefully the fire alarm won't go off."</p><p>Mellie laughed and poured a cup, putting what she liked in it and then sitting at the table opposite Rey. "Did I hear ya snoopin' around in Clyde's room yesterday?" she asked before taking a sip.</p><p>Rey blinked widely. "I wasn't snooping. I was looking at your room, too."</p><p>"I would normally be offended, darlin', but I like your honesty."</p><p>"I didn't mean to intrude, I was just trying to see how people live here."</p><p>"Uh-huh. Hope you found somethin' good to tell your friends about whenever you get home."</p><p>"Are those boxes of books in Clyde's room?" Rey asked, just as the man in question came down the stairs and into the room. Rey could see him too: he was tall with dark hair, wearing a dark shirt, and she could see where his left arm changed to dark material. She found herself positively excited to tell him that she could almost see enough to head back to the woods and try again.</p><p>The feeling was strange and alien to her. She hadn't felt pure excitement in a long time. Lately it was always paired with longing and despair.</p><p>"Oh sure," Mellie was saying, "he loves his books. Took a whole age to get 'em all from the trailer after he got outta jail."</p><p>"No prison talk at breakfast," Clyde muttered.</p><p>Rey frowned. "You were in prison?" she asked. She hadn't heard that yet. Which surprised her with the amount of talking she and Clyde did. But she knew that people kept things to themselves <em>for a reason </em>so she tried not to feel offended by it.</p><p>She certainly wasn't telling them everything about her. They wouldn't keep her around if they knew some of the things she'd done.</p><p>"It was on purpose," Clyde said as he sat down. "Oww! Mel, didja just kick me?"</p><p>Rey missed the rest of the silent communication between siblings. She sipped her coffee. "I think prison might be different where I'm from. Usually it's for big offenses or because you tried to underhand the wrong cartel."</p><p>"It weren't serious," Clyde insisted.</p><p>"It's okay, I've broken out of a prison a few times. Or broken someone out," Rey said simply, taking another sip.</p><p>"See, Mel?" Clyde goaded his sister.</p><p>"I know I brought it up, but I'm thinkin' we should talk about somethin' different," Mellie replied.</p><p>"I can see," Rey said with a small, but bright smile.</p><p>"Really?" the Logan siblings said simultaneously.</p><p>Rey set down her mug. "Yes. It's not great, but I can see a handful of colors. I can't see details but I can see a smudge where your faces should be." She pointedly looked both of them in the eye, even if she couldn't see the details clearly. "I can tell you're wearing a blue shirt, Mellie."</p><p>oOo</p><p>"Oh!" Mel exclaimed. "You're right. That's good, ain't it, Clyde?"</p><p>"Yeah. For sure," Clyde said. He almost winced at how slow and unenthusiastic his voice sounded.</p><p>"That's great, Rey," Mellie said, getting to her feet. "I've gotta run. I've got some early clients, but I'll be back later." She paused to pat his shoulder and then she was out like a tornado, slamming the door shut as she left.</p><p>His ears kinda rang once she was gone and he got up to get breakfast. "How much can ya see?" he asked. He'd asked a few times, once a day usually, and Rey supplied her answer. She seemed depressed about how slowly it was going, but Clyde was almost selfishly glad because it meant she'd stick around.</p><p>He didn't often talk to ladies just to talk to them. He'd been too tall and too <em>Logan</em> to get much attention in high school so he'd never had any friends who were also women before.</p><p>He thought that Rey was probably his friend. She was friendly with him, for the most part; but she was also basically an <em>alien</em>. He should have known not to get too attached. He didn't know if this was some sort of extension of the Logan curse: find a pretty girl in the woods, take her home, turns out she's an alien...or maybe it was just his own brand of misfortune.</p><p>"I can see that the kitchen is yellow. And I can see the shape of the table-" she ran her hands over the wood, marked by four decades of Logan scratches and markers, "but I can't see any details and my depth perception is a bit off if I'm going just by my eyes. The Force helps otherwise."</p><p>Clyde returned with bowls and set one down.</p><p>"I can't see your face yet, but I'm getting there," she added, turning her eyes on him. He could tell that she could see more. The light and focus in her eyes was building up.</p><p>"You'll be sorely disappointed," he heard himself say.</p><p>"Oh, come on. I don't care what you look like." He actually believed her. "I've gotten to know you in the past week, haven't I? That's all I care about."</p><p>Clyde dug into his cereal. "Ya think?"</p><p>"It's been a long time since I've been around anyone I'd consider a friend," Rey said with a shrug. They ate in companionable silence as they ate cereal and drank coffee.</p><p>"That mean you're gonna be off soon?" Clyde asked, rinsing out their bowls in the sink.</p><p>Rey nodded. "I think so. I'd like to go back to the woods where you found me and try to connect to the Force again."</p><p>Clyde frowned. "If you do, what'll happen? Will you just-disappear?"</p><p>"Something like that. But I'll make sure to say goodbye," Rey added softly.</p><p>He thought too late about maybe how she could use her magic or whatever to figure out what he was feeling. Frowning a little, he returned to the table with a topped off mug of coffee. He was still getting used to the metal arm Jimmy'd gotten for him, but it was nicer than his old hand. He had semi-working fingers now.</p><p>Leaning forward, Rey placed her hand gently on his arm near the seam where the prosthetic ended before his elbow. "Do you ever feel your hand, missing, there but not there?" she asked.</p><p>For once, he wasn't offended. It was the tone of her voice, the sadness in her eyes and he nodded. "Yup. They call it…phantom limb syndrome. Like it's there, but it ain't."</p><p>oOo</p><p>"I feel like that," Rey said, moving her hand to her chest. "Here. Except it's a person and he's gone. I dream about him sometimes but it always just hurts."</p><p>Clyde didn't say anything, looking at her with a deepset empathy she couldn't see but could feel.</p><p>"I've done a lot of things in the last five years I can't be proud of. But I would do <em>anything</em> to get back to Ben."</p><p>"You really think you can? I reckon it's gonna be hard to bring somebody back from the dead."</p><p>No one else knew about Ben. Rey hadn't told anyone at the Resistance. It was too hard to face and they wouldn't understand. She hadn't told anyone where she was going and what she was attempting when she left the base years ago. It was just her and her alone before she got to this strange planet with such little Force power and the kindness of strangers.</p><p>"I can do it," Rey said. She had long since given up on help from the Jedi; she had to do this on her own. "We-we didn't find each other with enough time. We're part of a-we're connected unlike anything you can imagine. And he died saving me. I need him."</p><p>"I believe you," he said after a long pause, processing and thinking. "How'd you end up here if you were lookin' for some kinda afterlife?"</p><p>Rey sighed. "I don't know yet. And I don't want to bore you with the details of how I got here. I barely understand them myself."</p><p>"I don't mind. I'm a pretty decent listener."</p><p>Rey gave him a small smile. "You are. I haven't talked to anyone about this before. There's something about you that's easy to talk to. I like you, Clyde. And I haven't liked being around anyone in a long time."</p><p>"I like you, too. You are the strangest woman I've ever met."</p><p>"I'm beginning to take that as a compliment," Rey said, slightly amused.</p><p>"I mean it as one."</p><p>Rey took a shuddering breath. She hadn't slowed down like this since...she couldn't remember the last time. Every passing day, she felt the absence of Ben even more, like an ache so deep within her that nothing could relieve her pain.</p><p>"Can we go to the woods now?"</p><p>"Yup," Clyde said, gulping down more of his coffee.</p><p>When they got to the parking lot, Rey could see the outline of the building stark against the clear sky.</p><p>"You wanna drink first?" Clyde asked, heading to the porch.</p><p>"Maybe some water before I go," Rey said after a beat, following him. The stairs and porch and floor were all familiar under her borrowed shoes as she made her way to the stools at the bar. The place didn't open until lunchtime so no one else was inside yet.</p><p>Clyde poured her a glass and handed it over.</p><p>"It's boring but you could come with me, if you want," Rey said, cupping the glass between her hands. "I mean I mostly just sit still and don't say anything but you're welcome to join me."</p><p>Clyde seemed to always take an extra second or two before speaking. Rey was used to it now. "You go. I'll make sure to bring some food out to ya in a while."</p><p>"Okay." Rey finished the water—she never left food or drink unconsumed after her life of living off half and quarter portions of food in a desert with no natural water source—and thanked him before she walked out the back door and toward the woods.</p><p>It was brighter today, and she could make out colors as she walked. Brown trees, brown and green leaves. The pants she wore were blue, her borrowed shirt was white. She never thought she'd miss color so much before, but after years of having it, she craved it. Growing up on Jakku had been all beige and tan, hot sun and cold, arid nights. She never wanted to go back to that.</p><p>She found the spot easily and walked around, brushing her fingertips against trees. None of these trees knew of her indiscretions, the illegal and morally gray things she'd done in the past few years. They were just living, a whole perfectly balanced organism.</p><p>Rey settled down on the ground, legs crossed, eyes closed.</p><p>Hours passed as she slipped into the Force. It was stronger now, or perhaps she finally knew where to look for it here in this place. <em>Something</em> was missing though. A key or a moment or a feeling that was keeping her from connecting fully enough to go <em>home</em>.</p><p>A rustling brought her out of her meditation and she opened her eyes to a bleary outline of Clyde with a plate of food in hand.</p><p>oOo</p><p>Rey beamed up at him with one of those big bright smiles of hers. "Hi, Clyde," she greeted him, not getting up from where she sat. "You wanna sit down?"</p><p>He debated for a moment and then sat facing her. He handed over the food: fried chicken and fries, which seemed like her favorite. She took it gratefully and dug in.</p><p>"It's pretty nice here," Clyde commented. It was just far enough away to not hear any cars going by, with a clear view of the sky and not a bit of litter in sight.</p><p>"Mmmhmm," she agreed, mouth full.</p><p>"Any luck?"</p><p>She shook her head. "Not yet. I think I need to wait to get my sight back fully. Maybe tomorrow or the next day." She sounded happy about it. He couldn't blame her; if he was in her shoes, he'd want to get home, too.</p><p>"A couple more days," he said thoughtfully.</p><p>Rey made quick work of her plate. He didn't think he'd ever seen a lady devour food so thoroughly before.</p><p>"I don't think you have any Force users here, on your planet," she said once she'd finished. She set the plate to the side on the thin layer of pine needles and fallen leaves.</p><p>"I don't think so," Clyde agreed. "We do got people who say they can tell the future or read your life through your palm. Psychics."</p><p>Rey tilted her head to the side and scooted toward him until their knees touched. "I can show you. Or try to, at least." She held out her left hand, palm up. "If you wanted."</p><p>Clyde wasn't so sure. He was pretty happy with where his life was at and the things he knew, but he was pretty damned intrigued by her talk of being connected to the universe and all that.</p><p>"Sure," he said, clasping her hand.</p><p>"Close your eyes," she instructed. He did. "Breathe deeply and open your mind. Try to be...open. Nonresistant."</p><p>Clyde cracked open an eye. "You gonna read my mind or somethin'?"</p><p>"No." Rey's lips curled into a small sad smile. "I could, but I won't. It's frowned upon."</p><p>Clyde trusted her, so he closed his eyes and tried to do what she told him. It wasn't so easy; he kept hearing birds and trees creaking and focusing on her warm hand in his. He hadn't held hands with anyone in an age.</p><p>"Everyone has a lifeforce energy, and yours is pretty strong," Rey said, her voice soft but confident, like she really knew what she was talking about.</p><p>"Is it, now? Guess I lived through enough to be called hearty."</p><p>She smiled a little bigger and squared her shoulders, keeping quiet and taking deep breaths. He tried to do the same.</p><p>"I don't feel anythin'," he said after a few minutes. He peeked and saw Rey's expression stay serene.</p><p>"Give it a moment. And shhh," she said, squeezing his hand.</p><p>He tried. He thought he lived a pretty quiet and calm life, but maybe not. He wanted to keep moving, but forced himself to stay seated.</p><p>"The Force fills every living thing," Rey said after a while, her voice level. "A lot of people are sensitive to it, but they don't know it."</p><p>Clyde didn't say a thing, but he didn't think he was. If he were, wouldn't he have been able to avoid that roadside bomb the way Rey could walk around with confidence without her sight?</p><p>"Your lifeforce is strong so I think maybe you can," she added softly. "Just relax."</p><p>"I am," he muttered, and he could imagine she was trying not to smile, even though his eyes were closed.</p><p>They were quiet for a few more minutes and Clyde felt the breeze pick up and he wanted to scratch his nose because he could hear and feel burrowing beetles and ants and he nearly jumped when he <em>saw-heard-felt</em> a bird swoop through the trees.</p><p>He jumped and let go of Rey's hand, eyes flying open. His senses retreated back to himself and his heart was beating a little fast in his chest. "What was that?"</p><p>"That was the Force. It's easy to feel living things. Moving rocks is harder."</p><p>Clyde got to his feet and shook out his whole body, trying to get the feeling of bug legs crawling all over him to go away. "I-I'll leave that to you."</p><p>"I hope I didn't scare you." Rey got to her feet with grace, holding the empty plate.</p><p>"No. I ain't scared, per say, but I ain't itchin' to do that again."</p><p>Rey flushed a little—from embarrassment or guilt or something, he couldn't tell—and she stepped up to him. "Sorry," she said, frowning a little and sliding her hand around his upper arm, leaning against him.</p><p>oOo</p><p>Rey was not one for tactile necessity, but it had been a long time since she connected to the Force with another person and she felt a bit weak (and <em>high</em> in a deliciously dark way she should have been more wary of) and leaned against Clyde as they walked back to his bar. A part of her told her that it was cruel to do so, since she'd been friendly with the Logans but kept her distance this whole time.</p><p>It wasn't like she planned on doing anything further, she was merely selfishingly enjoying the warmth from him, imagining someone else.</p><p>At the bar, Clyde gave her a drink and got one for himself. "Do ya feel that all the time?" he asked. They'd been quiet walking back from the woods.</p><p>"In the back of my head," Rey nodded. "I can push it away, or I can dive deep inside of it."</p><p>He whistled a little out of disbelief or surprise or maybe because he was impressed. "I wouldn't want that."</p><p>"A lot of people wouldn't." She ran her finger along the edge of the glass.</p><p>"Do a lota people have...<em>it</em> where you're from?"</p><p>"Probably. Not many people know they do, or they're powerful and have no one to teach them and they go mad." She frowned deep into her drink. "I've met a few of those. It's not something people strive to have. Maybe in the past, but not now."</p><p>"You're not gonna teach 'em?"</p><p>Rey chuckled but it lacked humor. "No. I shouldn't have done that with you. I'm sorry, you didn't know what you were getting into."</p><p>"No harm done." He stopped in front of her, a blurred shape of a man, barely standing out from the dim light of the bar.</p><p>The words twisted in her gut. "I'm glad." She drank what was left of the drink, grimacing at the flavor and burn down her throat. "You've been so nice to me, I wouldn't want to scare you off. I'm not sure I could live in the woods alone waiting for my sight to come back."</p><p>"Ain't no need for that." His voice was softer now. "I trust you."</p><p>"You shouldn't." Rey stood up, feeling dizzy but pulling on the Force to keep herself steady.</p><p>"Why not?"</p><p>Rey blinked, curling her hands around the edge of the bartop. "I tend to get people killed."</p><p>"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, which was not the response she was expecting.</p><p>"Me too." She stood there, wrapping her arms around her abdomen and then taking a step back. "I'm going to sit outside."</p><p>"Okay," Clyde said and she left. She took in the air—tinged with petrol and other manmade smells—and pulled herself up onto the flat bannister near the window. She could see bright neon lights, a blur, in the window, and she sat there, back against the shingling, one leg pulled up to her chest, the other dangling.</p><p>Half an hour later, a red car pulled into the lot fast enough for Rey to know it was Mellie.</p><p>"Hey there," the other woman's voice said, and Rey watched her blurred form walk onto the porch. "You doin' all right?"</p><p>Rey took a deep breath. "I wish I could leave."</p><p>"You'll be missed, y'know," Mellie said, coming to lean against the railing. Rey could feel her eyes on her even if she couldn't see it clearly.</p><p>"I dropped into your normal life and-" Mellie didn't know about the Force stuff. Rey felt a shadow squeeze at her chest, nestling inside. "You've been very kind."</p><p>"It's that southern hospitality, even though we ain't really that southern geographically." Mellie paused and Rey swung her legs over to one side of the bannister, but she didn't jump down. "Clyde'll miss you a lot."</p><p>"I'm not so sure."</p><p>"He will. Believes in that Logan curse mambo-jumbo so much he doesn't leave much time for friend-makin'. And he's sweet on you and won't say a thing."</p><p>Rey took a deep breath. "I can tell," she said softly. Because she could, and that just made earlier worse.</p><p>Mellie sighed. "Of course my brother would find some kinda companionship in-" she paused and lowered her voice, "an alien."</p><p>Rey half smiled. "Are you done with hair appointments today?"</p><p>"Nah. Clyde called. He was worried. Wanna come sit with me for a while?"</p><p>Rey had nothing to do, so she agreed.</p><p>oOo</p><p>Clyde got home early. Mellie and Rey were drinking on the couch and Rey had her hair cut shorter and all curled around her face. She looked almost like she belonged in his world but he knew she didn't.</p><p>They were laughing a lot and Clyde could pretty much pinpoint just how many drinks they'd each had from that alone.</p><p>"What's all this?" he asked, leaving his boots by the door and walking into the living room. He had too many books to fit in his room and there were still two boxes by the couch. It looked like they'd been sifted through.</p><p>"Clyde!" Mellie said, dragging out his name in a way he rarely heard her do. His sister was not one for getting drunk all that often.</p><p>Rey's bright smile dimmed when she turned toward him. He was still trying to figure out what all that stuff in the woods and the bar after was about but hadn't gotten anywhere.</p><p>"Rey said she'll be leaving maybe tomorrow so I figured-I figured why not have a night, just me and her, just the <em>girls</em>, y'know. So I did her hair and <em>look</em> at her nails!"</p><p>Rey did not show off her painted nails.</p><p>"You're home early," Mellie finished, frowning.</p><p>"I was tired." He was. The whole <em>Force thing</em> had thrown him for a loop and he hadn't been able to shake it.</p><p>"Go be tired upstairs in your room, this is no boys allowed territory," Mellie said, adding a flourish of her hand and sticking her tongue out at him. "Say goodnight, Clyde."</p><p>"Night, Mel, Rey." He headed toward the stairs and heard a small, "Goodnight" from Rey before he walked up.</p><p>He showered and tried to relax, laid out in bed, book propped up against his chest, his fingers holding the pages open on the top and flipping them when needed. Which wasn't a lot. He was a slow reader on a good day, but tonight his mind was distracted. It didn't happen all too often, at least not for a couple years now.</p><p>He <em>was</em> tired, but not enough to sleep. He heard Mellie stumble up the stairs and he listened to the sink run in the bathroom and her door close a few minutes later. He wasn't gonna be able to read anymore so he turned off the light and lay down with his left arm under his head and tried to fall asleep.</p><p>He couldn't, distracted and uneasy, dozing but jerking awake so often he hurt his neck and muttered into the darkness as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He rubbed his neck and sighed. He wasn't sure if he was feeling the after effects of the forest, but his skin prickled and wouldn't stop.</p><p>Clyde pulled on shorts and walked downstairs in the dark, trailing his hand down the bannister, eyes adjusted to the night but not enough to not trip if he wasn't careful. There was a light blinking on the cable box, showing the intermittent detail of Rey on the couch.</p><p>She was sitting cross legged, like in the woods, eyes closed, hands on her knees. Unlike in the woods she was hovering above the cushions. If he was being completely honest, it looked kind of creepy, with her hair floating out around her and the air around her charged with static or something.</p><p>It didn't look peaceful, that was for sure.</p><p>He was about to turn tail and leave but Rey's eyes opened and the air settled. The lamp turned on next to the sofa, flooding the room with light. Clyde squinted and blinked against it and when he put his hand down from shielding his eyes, Rey was sitting down on the sofa.</p><p>"What uh-what were you doin'?" Clyde asked, staying where he was. He still felt like he could trust her, but he wanted to be sure.</p><p>"Meditating," Rey told him, getting to her feet. Her hair was all frizzy and she smoothed it back and tied it off at the nape of her neck.</p><p>He blinked a few times. "It looked different."</p><p>She shifted on the balls of her feet. "It was. I did something I shouldn't have earlier."</p><p>"With me."</p><p>"I'm sorry I did it." She frowned and she looked sincere. "You've been so nice to me-"</p><p>"You've said that a few times."</p><p>"I mean it. I've-I've been alone for a few years and I forgot what it was like. I've been selfish."</p><p>"You really want to find your other half."</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"You didn't hurt Mel, did you?"</p><p>She sighed and deflated right in front of him. "No, of course not. I would never. I didn't <em>hurt you</em> either. I could have, though."</p><p>"What did you do?"</p><p>"I just took some-some of your lifeforce. Just a little. Yours is so strong and the planet is really weak with the Force. It was what I needed to make myself better."</p><p>It was then he noticed that her eyes were clearer. "You can see?"</p><p>"Almost. I can see the shadows where your eyes are and I know there are words on your shirt, but I can't see sharp details."</p><p>"Good. Right? That's good."</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"Will I uh-is there anythin' I should worry about?"</p><p>"No. No." She frowned and sank down on the arm of the chair. "You'll be fine. Just tired for a few days."</p><p>Clyde nodded and looked at her and thought about what she'd said. "You could have asked me."</p><p>Guilt flooded her features.</p><p>"It woulda been the decent thing to do."</p><p>She fisted her hands and leaned forward, eyes shut, contemplating. "You wouldn't have understood what I was asking."</p><p>"I'm smarter than people think."</p><p>Rey unfisted her hands and dragged her nails over her knees. "I'm sorry. I should have. I guess it's good that I'm leaving."</p><p>Clyde took a deep breath and slid his hand around the back of his neck. "I never <em>really</em> got that you were an alien, even with the floatin' rocks."</p><p>Rey arched an eyebrow. "I'm human."</p><p>"Not Earth human. And yet ya look normal. So are you gonna leave normal? Or are we gonna have ourselves a new Area 51 to deal with once you're gone?"</p><p>Rey frowned. "I don't know what that means."</p><p>Clyde dropped his arm. "Will you use a spaceship?"</p><p>"What? No." Rey tilted her head to one side. "It should be...an energy portal. I think."</p><p>"You think?"</p><p>"I won't know until I try."</p><p>"With my-my lifeforce energy?"</p><p>Rey inclined her head. "Yes."</p><p>"Do you need more?"</p><p>oOo</p><p>The air felt thick for a moment, like the house was holding its breath. Rey thought about things Mellie had told her, thought about those first few days when Clyde was "sweet as pie"—to use a native expression—to her and it all kind of made sense. It woke up some soft part of herself she'd tamped down, and it hurt, <em>ached</em> a little.</p><p>"No, I do not," she told him.</p><p>It would have done nothing but help her, but she wouldn't do that again. Stealing lifeforce was a deceptive thing to do, even if the person was willing. Without realizing it, Rey had been given this journey by the Force on purpose.</p><p>It was reminding her why she was doing this. For kindness and warmth and connection. If she wanted Ben back, it was so that she could have those things. She was losing her way, but falling into the lives of strangers on a strange planet had shaken things loose.</p><p>She had forgotten that she could show people the good she could offer, rather than taking what she needed and running. Instead of being scared like so many others after spotting the lightsaber at her hip and hearing stories of her travels on the HoloNet, the Logans had been genuinely nice to her and had helped her without fear.</p><p>She wondered what Ben would think as she used all of her resources—the Force, the Jedi texts, her own instincts—to bully her way to find him. Maybe Kylo would be impressed, but she didn't want that mask of a man, she wanted Ben.</p><p>"You should get some sleep," Rey said, noticing the room was quiet.</p><p>She couldn't see details, like she told Clyde, but by the morning she should be able to. And then that would be it.</p><p>For now, she had a shadowy vision of him, hair longer than expected, tall as she knew he was, without his prosthetic so she could see his arm taper off, hand and wrist gone in an accident he'd explained one day on their hikes. He hadn't elaborated too much on it, but she had been around enough explosions to imagine.</p><p>He hesitated. She didn't know if she had scared him too much or broken his trust, and she wished she could go back and reverse her journey of bad ideas.</p><p>"I'll leave before you wake up, if you want," she said, crossing her arms. "I don't want to make things harder and I can't take back what I di-took from you."</p><p>Clyde shook his head. "You should say goodbye. In the mornin'."</p><p>She gave him a sad excuse for a smile. "Okay."</p><p>She stayed where she was as he went into the kitchen and rattled around. She heard a cabinet open and close and the rush of water from the sink. A few minutes later, he walked back through the living room toward the stairs.</p><p>"Goodnight," he told her, his tone a little guarded, but still soft enough for her to remember that he liked her. He'd told her as much.</p><p>She echoed the word and turned off the lamp, reaching across the sofa this time, once he was up the steps.</p><p>oOo</p><p>Surprisingly, Clyde fell asleep pretty damn fast once he got upstairs. He didn't even have nightmares of floating girls or bugs crawling all over him or anything. He woke up and lay in bed for a while, trying to figure out what last night was all about.</p><p>He wanted to trust Rey, but something was definitely <em>alien</em> about her. He probably should have been more freaked out about her stealing some of his life energy or whatever like some kind of vampire, but he felt okay now. She seemed guilty, alluding to doing bad things in the past.</p><p>Clyde's history was not squeaky clean, but he thought maybe that was different.</p><p>He finally got up and dressed, ran his hand through his hair and headed down. Rey wasn't on the couch or in the kitchen and Mel wasn't up yet. Clyde started coffee and made eggs because he wanted them.</p><p>He didn't think that maybe Rey was gone for good.</p><p>It didn't sneak into his mind until he was done with breakfast and Mellie came down, hair a mess and makeup smeared against her cheeks.</p><p>"I remember why I don't drink much," she mumbled, taking the coffee he handed to her. "I'll stick to a shot here or there from now on."</p><p>"Good idea," he said, pouring a glass of water and putting it on the table for her too.</p><p>Mellie sat down at the table and rubbed her forehead. "Where's Rey? Did she leave already?"</p><p>Before Clyde could answer, Rey's voice came through from the cracked back door he hadn't seen:</p><p>"No I have not!"</p><p>A minute or two later, Rey walked into the kitchen. She didn't look scary or frightened or sad. She looked like yesterday hadn't happened.</p><p>"How are you so chipper?" Mel groaned, glaring at their guest.</p><p>Rey gave her a soft smile and then looked over at Clyde, who had moved to the sink to rinse off his place.</p><p>"Morning, Clyde," she said, voice a little tentative.</p><p>Clyde took a deep breath. "Mornin', Rey." He turned around and within half a second, Rey's calm, smiling face fell to shock and tears filled her eyes. Within the next half a second she'd slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle an unexpected sob.</p><p>"Shit, what's wrong?" Mellie asked, sounding more sober than a second ago.</p><p>Rey said something, muffled by her hand and reached a hand out to pull out a chair and drop down into it.</p><p>Mellie looked at Clyde with wide eyes, grabbed her coffee and went out of the room, moving out the front door and onto the six foot "porch" out front. Leaving Clyde in the kitchen with the crying alien lady.</p><p>oOo</p><p>Rey hadn't cried unexpectedly in a couple years. She had grown hard in a way that reminded her of Jakku and the BB-8 sized desert beetles who followed behind the nightwatcher worms for scraps; layers and layers of shell to protect their squishy insides.</p><p>Her vulnerability was hidden away tightly in her chest until it wasn't.</p><p>Rey had woken up in the morning and she could see almost perfectly. She couldn't see crisp details far away, but within a few feet, things were clear. She was certain that it would be enough. So she spent the morning walking outside, feeling out with the Force, testing herself.</p><p>She waited a little while as the house woke up. Staying quietly by the short, messy shrubs surrounding the back of the building, Rey waited until both Logans were up to make her entrance. She wanted to get her goodbyes over quickly, so she didn't waste more time stumbling over apologies.</p><p>The first thing she saw was Mellie's lovely but disheveled face. She could see that her eyes were green and her hair was brown with hints of auburn and blonde in the messy curls. She could make out lettering on the t-shirt she wore, but Rey couldn't read it. While their spoken language was almost identical, she could not read the alphabet they used here on Earth.</p><p>"Morning, Clyde," she said, trying to insert some friendliness into her tone. He was at the sink and she saw the broadness of his shoulders and the black t-shirt stretched across them. And then he turned around.</p><p>He looked like Ben.</p><p>It wasn't an exact match, but <em>he looked like Ben</em>. The eyes, the long face, his stature, and even though his hair was longer, it fell around his face like Ben's, too.</p><p>Rey wasn't expecting it and tears stung her eyes without warning. She sat heavily down in a chair and tried not to sob, hiding her face with her hands.</p><p>"Um-" She heard a chair scrape against the floor and Clyde sat down. "Are ya okay?"</p><p>Rey snuffled and wiped her nose and cheeks with her hands. Her eyes were blurry, which was a relief for a moment. "Y-yes," she said, blinking and furrowing her eyebrows. "I-I can see pretty well today."</p><p>"Oh. And here I said my face woulda been disappointing but I didn't expect ya to cry over it."</p><p>She laughed a little, blinking tears down her cheeks. "It's not that."</p><p>"No?"</p><p>Whether or not he meant it, Clyde rested his right arm on the table like he was reaching out and Rey's body followed. She dropped her—honestly kind of gross, snotty hand—into his and curled her fingers around his palm.</p><p>"You look like him," she said softly, her eyes clearing up. And upon closer inspection—though it was difficult and her eyes kept welling up—he did look a lot like Ben. But he also looked like...well he looked like Clyde. Rey hadn't formed an image of what he looked like in her head before now, but it <em>fit</em>.</p><p>"Like?"</p><p>"Like Ben," Rey said a little stiffly. She squeezed his hand—it was also the same but different like the rest of him—and he held on tight and things <em>shifted</em>.</p><p>It kind of made sense why she was here. If she thought about it, perhaps the Force <em>had</em> tried to bring her to Ben but found Clyde instead, a close match but not <em>Ben</em>. And maybe—no <em>definitely</em>, she had been taught a lesson by the unyielding natural energy that made up the whole universe by losing her sight.</p><p>It centered her around the Force, and she had to use it simply and gently to survive. It made her slow down, it made her befriend people rather than attack and bully them. A part of her longed for that comfortable embrace of the dark shadows that curled around her when she gave in to her impulses, but her time here had been cleansing in a way.</p><p>She was still Rey; she would never be a Jedi and she didn't think she would ever become anything like a Sith, but she was somewhere in the middle. And without Ben, she was struggling to find that balance.</p><p>"Oh," Clyde said. "Am I supposed to say sorry for it?"</p><p>"No," Rey shook her head. "No. I-" She could say any number of things now, but she knew she'd be leaving—this was supposed to be her goodbye afterall—so she didn't want to muddy the waters explaining more Force stuff to him. "I'm glad I met you. Just as you are."</p><p>"Oh." The <em>oh</em> was different this time. Like maybe he wasn't sure he deserved to be seen just as he was. That's what she sensed through the Force, but she never tried to reach too far. Except that one time yesterday but she felt so guilty about it she wanted to go hole herself up on Ahch-To for stealing from him. She wouldn't do it again.</p><p>"You don't have to say the same about me," Rey added, standing up. She reluctantly let go of his hand, remembering that she was meant to be leaving.</p><p>"Oh it wasn't the worst," he said with a small little smirk on his face.</p><p>Rey laughed and coughed because of her phlegmy throat and wiped her face on the back of her wrists. She blinked until she saw clearly again, looking down at him. Her eyes hesitated on the prosthetic resting on his leg, the mechanical fingers slightly curved in a resting position. She knew that prosthetics back in her...world, her galaxy—she wasn't sure exactly where Earth belonged in the universe, she'd never heard of it before—could be augmented to look like flesh and have sensation.</p><p>She thought, for a moment, to take him with her, to offer him the chance, but she knew that he'd say no.</p><p>So she rested her hand on his shoulder and looked at his face for a few long seconds—it had been five years, three months, fifteen days and a handful of hours since she'd last seen Ben and she couldn't help but stare and remind herself—before she squeezed and glanced through the house toward the front door.</p><p>"I should say goodbye to Mellie," she said softly, leaving and walking on slightly dirty bare feet through the house.</p><p>oOo</p><p>Rey was like a tornado. Coming out of nowhere, plopping down smack dab in the middle of Clyde's life and changing his whole perspective. And soon she'd be gone without a trace.</p><p>He didn't really know if it meant something that he looked kinda like the guy she was trying to bring back from the dead. She left the kitchen and spent some time out front with Mellie while Clyde stayed in the kitchen.</p><p>After a while, Mellie called him out. Rey was sitting on the front steps and Mellie bolted inside past him.</p><p>"What's all this?" he asked.</p><p>Rey was holding Mellie's cell phone in hand like it would bite her. "She said she wanted to take a selfie. Am I supposed to know what that is?"</p><p>Clyde blinked. "It's a picture," he explained, standing and leaning against the house.</p><p>"Oh, okay." Rey twisted around in place and looked at him again. He couldn't read her face and tried not to think about who she saw when she looked at him. He hoped maybe she saw him and not just the face of her dead lover.</p><p>A small smile on her face grew bigger and bigger as Mellie's voice cut through from in the house. Clyde smiled a little back before his sister came back, smudged makeup washed off, hair somewhat contained, and wearing clothes that weren't pajamas.</p><p>"Okay, okay!" Mellie swooped down and plucked the phone from Rey's hands. She stepped down to the pathway and turned around, clicking the camera at Rey sitting on the steps. "That one's for Clyde," Mel said with a little smirk.</p><p>Clyde blushed a little bit.</p><p>"C'mon, Clyde," his little sister said as she pulled Rey to her feet. The girls were the same height standing next to each other in bare feet.</p><p>"Me?" he asked, not budging.</p><p>"Yeah, you, who else?" She waved at him. "You've got the longest arms here."</p><p>"I don't like takin' selfies," Clyde told her but he slowly started walking down the stairs.</p><p>"And I don't care." Mel smiled sweetly at him and he sighed and made it to the walkway. Mellie showed Rey the little camera circle and told her to be sure to look there and not at the screen.</p><p>Clyde begrudgingly took the phone in its sparkly case. He held it horizontal and crouched down a little bit to make it easier.</p><p>It took a few tries before they got one without anyone blinking or blurry and Mellie was happy with it. She took the phone and hugged Rey long and hard.</p><p>oOo</p><p>"I'd say you can come visit and the couch is always yours but…" Mellie stepped back and ran her hands through Rey's hair, tucking it behind her ears and trying to style it in some way or other like she was always doing.</p><p>"I appreciate the offer," Rey replied sincerely. She squeezed the other woman's shoulders. She did, she really did. And if, by some miracle of the Force, she returned to West Virginia on Earth, she would be more than happy to see how Mellie and Clyde were doing. Not that she expected that to happen, but she wasn't opposed to the idea.</p><p>Mellie smiled and hugged her again and then walked around her back into the house.</p><p>Rey could almost feel that Clyde was holding his breath and then he shifted on his feet and Rey turned around to face him.</p><p>"I'm sorry," she said first and foremost. "For yesterday. I still-I still feel-wrong about it. I'm sorry."</p><p>"I know," Clyde said and she believed he believed it.</p><p>She smiled a little at him, still a little stunned at...well him. The Force always worked in ways you may not figure out until long after the fact, and she didn't know whether to be upset or thankful. It didn't feel like she'd wasted a week being here on this alien planet, even though she hadn't been actively searching for Ben.</p><p>He had been gone for five years—a few extra days wouldn't change that.</p><p>"You uh, you need to get goin'?" Clyde asked after a minute.</p><p>Rey swallowed and nodded. "I do." She looked down at her bare toes, covered in a light coating of dirt and bits of grass from her morning walk. "You can come with me."</p><p>Clyde blinked. "Where?"</p><p>The air felt heavy. "The woods. See one last bit of magic." She couldn't ask him to come <em>with</em> her. He belonged here. She was certain he would find...whatever it was he was looking for that she couldn't stay here and give him.</p><p>"Okay," he said after a beat.</p><p>Rey's smile felt warm and real. Maybe the Force was right to send her here. She had much to learn. "I-"</p><p>"Dammit all!" Mellie's voice came barreling out to them from inside. Clyde took to the stairs and Rey followed. Mellie was rushing around the house like she'd just been stung, pulling on her white cowboy boots and tugging down her pink dress. She spotted them and stopped, pointing to Clyde. "Don't let me drink again."</p><p>Clyde nodded and held his hands up in surrender.</p><p>"Can you drive us to Clyde's bar?" Rey asked.</p><p>Mellie straightened her back and pushed hair out of her eyes, now garnished with sparkling makeup. "For you, doll? Yes. Mrs. Derry will just have to wait."</p><p>Two minutes later, they were in Mellie's car. Rey had pulled on the borrowed shoes from day one and Mellie drove faster than ever before. She jumped out of the car just long enough to give Rey another hug and a kiss on her cheek before she was gone in a cloud of dust.</p><p>Rey coughed and pushed the particles away from her and Clyde with the Force, making them settle down unnaturally fast. There was no one else around, but Clyde glanced around almost nervously.</p><p>Rey put down her hand and gave him a small smile. "The trees await," she said, staring around the side of his building.</p><p>"What's gonna happen?" he asked, falling into step at her side.</p><p>"Honestly, I don't know what it looks like from the outside. I may just disappear. There may be some lights or fog or clouds. I don't know. But it shouldn't disturb much of anything."</p><p>"Huh."</p><p>They walked and Rey led the way because she knew it now by heart. She didn't need to use her eyes to make her way between the right trees and end up in the right space, trees crowded around but a little open are just waiting.</p><p>"I hope you find what you're lookin' for," Clyde said as they stopped there.</p><p>Rey stood in the middle of the space, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Thank you," she said, dropping her arms to her sides and turning to face him. She took off her shoes and set them aside. "It's better if I'm grounded." She dug her toes into the soft, cool underbrush.</p><p>As her vision had cleared, so had Rey's mind and, if she really pressed, her soul as well. Her walk this morning had proven to her that she had the key to leave and return to her galaxy this whole time, but she had just been blocked by her own selfishness and desires.</p><p>Now, she had a clear path. She could close her eyes and see, like lights and colors swirling all around her, what she needed to do, what path she needed to follow to get back to where she belonged.</p><p>"What do you think?" she asked, taking a few steps toward him. "Are you going to tell all your bar friends about the strange alien woman who showed up one night behind your bar and could move things with her mind?"</p><p>oOo</p><p>Clyde relaxed just a little bit. "Think I might keep that one to myself." People had seen her at the bar of course, and hanging out with Mellie, but they could chalk it up to some girl just passing through and the Logan hospitality.</p><p>He thought about the pictures Mellie had them take and was quietly thankful so that, in a few years, he could look back and realize this whole week had been real. "You gonna be okay goin' back to whatever world that ya left?"</p><p>Rey shrugged her shoulders. "I hope so. Being here has been...nice. It's been cleansing. I haven't always done the best things in the past few years and being here reminded me of the things I'm fighting to bring back."</p><p>"That's good. I mean, I hope that's good. We didn't do nothin', just took care of someone who needed it."</p><p>Rey smiled. "You took in a very strange person and let me interrupt your life. I'll be forever grateful."</p><p>"I was happy to."</p><p>"Is it okay if I hug you? I promise not to steal any of your lifeforce."</p><p>"Uh, sure," he said and she stepped up immediately, putting her arms around him. She was stronger than she looked, which he should know by now after watching her pull herself up rockside cliffs he wasn't sure he could have done with two hands.</p><p>It was nice though, and she was all warm and smelled nice. His arms settled around her and a moment or two passed before she took a deep breath and then let it out in a little sigh and stepped back.</p><p>"I'm glad I met you."</p><p>Clyde blushed a little but he could probably blame the cold, crisp air for that. "I ain't nothin' special. I'm no alien or a Force person."</p><p>"If you think I'm an alien, you're an alien too," Rey said with a chuckle. "I don't really know how to say goodbye."</p><p>"Me neither," he confessed.</p><p>"I usually say may the Force be with you...but after me, I'm not sure you'd want that."</p><p>He pressed his lips together. "Maybe not, but if it's what you normally say…"</p><p>Rey frowned a little. "I guess I could just say goodbye."</p><p>"You can."</p><p>She stepped far enough away now that she was in the middle of the small clearing. "I don't know if I'll take these clothes with me, so you can come back and see if they're here when I'm gone. To give back to Mellie."</p><p>Clyde took in a short breath. "Yeah. Okay."</p><p>"I don't know if you being nearby will drag you with me."</p><p>So this was it. He took a step back. "Goodbye, Rey," he said, which came out stupidly easy. How could it be that easy?</p><p>She smiled small and waved her hand a little. "Goodbye, Clyde."</p><p>He walked away because it was obvious that she wanted him to. For his safety, even if she didn't say it in so many words. He should have been more willing, given what transpired last night and the last time they were in these woods. But he reluctantly dragged his feet back toward the bar.</p><p>He didn't know how long it would take, but he was back at Duck Tape for all of five minutes when he felt what he thought was a breeze but he was <em>inside</em>.</p><p>Something so weird could only mean one thing.</p><p>It took him awhile to find his way back to the clearing and when he got there, Rey was gone and there were Mel's clothes crumpled on the ground. So either there was a naked woman running around Boone County or she was really gone.</p><p>He lifted them and hooked the tied laces of the converse over his mechanical fingers. The clothes were still slightly warm.</p><p>Even though it was day time, Clyde lifted his eyes to the sky as if he expected a ship to be there, or a star twinkling just for him like in the movies.</p><p>But there was just blue sky and the jetline of a passing airplane.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>omg guys pls check out this manip <a href="https://twitter.com/zara_ardis">SR on twitter</a> made of the selfie!! so cute!</p><p> </p><p>  </p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>